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Old 01-11-2014, 10:41 AM
Old cop Old cop is offline
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Default Civilian Friends vs Police Friends

As a follow on to yesterday's post, Always A Cop, I offer the following. Again I am not the author and any typos and mispellings are all mine.

Civilian Friends: Get upset of you're too busy to talk to them for a week.
Police Friends: Are glad to see you after years, and will happily carry on a conversation you were having the last time you met.

Civilian Friends: Have never seen you cry.
Police Friends: Have cried with you.

Civilian Friends: Borrow your stuff and then give it back to you.
Police Friends: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours.

Civilina Friends: Know a few things about you.
Police Friends: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

Civilian Friends: Have shared a few experiences.
Police Friends: Have shared a lifetime of experiences no citizen could ever dream of.

Civilian Friends: Will ignore this.
Police Friends: Will forward this.

There are those that think they understand and then there are cops.
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  #2  
Old 01-11-2014, 10:54 AM
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A couple of thoughts.

First I object to the use of the term “civilian”, the police are civilians who have been hired to maintain order.

Second I find the tone of the article to be very elitist. It holds police officers and some how “a breed apart” and above the citizens that they serve. I find this a very dangerous attitude for any public servant to hold.

Finally, anything else I might say would very likely lead to an infraction if not an outright ban so I am withdrawing from this conversation.

Enjoy your thread

ETA I want to make it very clear I am commenting on the article not police officers.
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Last edited by Smoke; 01-11-2014 at 12:04 PM.
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Old 01-11-2014, 11:06 AM
nawilson nawilson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smoke View Post
First, the police are civilians who have been hired to maintain order. Second the article is elitist and places the police above the citizens they serve.

Third any thing else I would say would very likely lead to an infraction

enjoy your thread
Wow. Chill, dude.

If you want to take exception to use of the word "civilian," fine. I don't find the thread to be elitist at all. It is only saying the police experience things that others never get to. I personally believe that to be true.
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Old 01-11-2014, 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by nawilson View Post
Wow. Chill, dude.

If you want to take exception to use of the word "civilian," fine. I don't find the thread to be elitist at all. It is only saying the police experience things that others never get to. I personally believe that to be true.
Please note my expanded and edited comments above. I appreciate your willingness to serve your community.

Good day
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Old 01-11-2014, 11:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smoke View Post
A couple of thoughts.

First I object to the use of the term “civilian”, the police are civilians who have been hired to maintain order.

Second I find the tone of the article to be very elitist. It holds police officers and some how “a breed apart” and above the citizens that they serve. I find this a very dangerous attitude for any public servant to hold.

Finally, anything else I might say would very likely lead to an infraction if not an outright ban so I am withdrawing from this conversation.

Enjoy your thread
If you were a cop I think you would better understand. Much like those that have been in combat together. They ARE a breed apart. There are good cops and bad. It takes a special person to be a good cop.

The rest of us can only guess at how we would feel.
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:06 PM
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Always been of the mind if you are not "Military" then you
are a civilian.
Also sounds elitist to me. (them vs. us)......
Wonder where the Police would be if true civil
unrest breaks out nationwide "without the help
of honest, hard working (civilians)" ????
We're all in this together fellas !!!!!

Also won't be returning to the thread so good luck.


Chuck
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:18 PM
finesse_r finesse_r is offline
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Talking Just bureaucrats with guns and badges...

I don't care for attempts to militarize our police forces in dress and armaments. I also don't care for more subtle attempts in this direction, including comparing them to military by use of the term non-civilian when referring to officers of the law.

To me police are bureaucrats with guns and badges. With them like any other group you get the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some of them have difficult jobs, but they are there to earn a living just like a welder or a plumber. They should be held to a higher standard because they are entrusted with law enforcement and to some extent public safety.

They are not serving in a war zone anymore than the rest of us. That distinction belongs to the active military. Also police do have a gun and badge and rapid support, where we non-police citizens very often do not.

I certainly have not found them more sympathetic and understanding than the general population. In fact they are often burdened by a mentality that is focused on law enforcement above all else except when it comes to each other.

I resent getting a ticket for not wearing a safety belt and seeing some policeman do a u-turn in heavy traffic and speed off at speeds for in excess of the posted limits. Worse is driving down the freeway and having them pass you going no where special doing 15 or 20 MPH above the speed limit.

So I suggest we treat police officers like what they are. They are citizens just like the rest of us, with some training, a badge, a gun, and a government job that gives them prestige and power. Some are good; some are not. They deserve neither vilification or idolization as a group.
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:33 PM
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I don't really have an opinion either way, it is what it is.
I haven't been here very long, but long enough that I smell a Gorilla.
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:33 PM
forindooruseonly forindooruseonly is offline
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Cops must habitually make terrible civilian friends...

But I'm kinda with Smoke on this one. Just because cops experience is unique, it doesn't make them exceptional. To say that cops have cornered the market on dealing with the shady side of society or the trauma of crime, and therefore can't be understood by "civilians" is both self-serving and disingenuous.

It's self serving because the whole "you wouldn't understand" opens doors to behavior that is unacceptable to "civilians"..

It's disingenuous because police work is only one of many professions that deal with emotional and physical trauma on a regular basis.

At the end of the day, a person is either a good judge of character who is sociable and can create lasting friendships or they're not. To say that civilians by and large make terrible friends is both ignorant and wrong.
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:49 PM
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This has came up before and the thread was locked down. I have no dog in this fight but here's what the dictionary says about "civilian".

Civilian - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

My hat's off to all those who serve or have served.
  #11  
Old 01-11-2014, 12:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by finesse_r View Post
I don't care for attempts to militarize our police forces in dress and armaments. I also don't care for more subtle attempts in this direction, including comparing them to military by use of the term non-civilian when referring to officers of the law.

To me police are bureaucrats with guns and badges. With them like any other group you get the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some of them have difficult jobs, but they are there to earn a living just like a welder or a plumber. They should be held to a higher standard because they are entrusted with law enforcement and to some extent public safety.

They are not serving in a war zone anymore than the rest of us. That distinction belongs to the active military. Also police do have a gun and badge and rapid support, where we non-police citizens very often do not.

I certainly have not found them more sympathetic and understanding than the general population. In fact they are often burdened by a mentality that is focused on law enforcement above all else except when it comes to each other.

I resent getting a ticket for not wearing a safety belt and seeing some policeman do a u-turn in heavy traffic and speed off at speeds for in excess of the posted limits. Worse is driving down the freeway and having them pass you going no where special doing 15 or 20 MPH above the speed limit.

So I suggest we treat police officers like what they are. They are citizens just like the rest of us, with some training, a badge, a gun, and a government job that gives them prestige and power. Some are good; some are not. They deserve neither vilification or idolization as a group.
Hammer; meet head of nail!
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Old 01-11-2014, 01:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old cop View Post
As a follow on to yesterday's post, Always A Cop, I offer the following. Again I am not the author and any typos and mispellings are all mine.

Civilian Friends: Get upset of you're too busy to talk to them for a week.
Police Friends: Are glad to see you after years, and will happily carry on a conversation you were having the last time you met.

Civilian Friends: Have never seen you cry.
Police Friends: Have cried with you.

Civilian Friends: Borrow your stuff and then give it back to you.
Police Friends: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours.

Civilina Friends: Know a few things about you.
Police Friends: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

Civilian Friends: Have shared a few experiences.
Police Friends: Have shared a lifetime of experiences no citizen could ever dream of.

Civilian Friends: Will ignore this.
Police Friends: Will forward this.

There are those that think they understand and then there are cops.
I grew up with respect for the law being drilled into me. That respect has long worn very thin due to interaction over the years with police officers holding attitudes like the one displayed above.

I am out of here.
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Old 01-11-2014, 01:11 PM
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Personally, I am a retired LEO yet I have to agree with most of the responders above me. There most definitely is a "us and them" attitude in the LEO community and from what I can see, it has become worse as a new style of LEO takes the reins. All of a sudden, most of the males all have military styled hair buzzes and for the most part, walk around with an attitude as if they are some kind of mega god or something. To be honest, I never saw much of the current behavior in the LEO community that is now reaching retirement age.

I have great respect for the LEO community as a whole but I don't believe they are any more important in society than other first responders, emergency medical teams, school teachers, stay at home moms (or dads), etc, etc, etc. The OP has stated that these aren't his words that are posted but I find this quote particularly troublesome; "There are those that think they understand and then there are cops." Someone above made the statement that "we are all in this together" and I say wagon wheels don't work well with one spoke missing!
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Old 01-11-2014, 01:24 PM
dougb1946 dougb1946 is offline
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There is an "us and them" attitude in all cohesive groups. Soldiers associate with other soldiers, teachers with other teachers, mechanics with other mechanics. You share interests and activities so you have something to talk about besides the weather. I have a brother who is a retired LEO. At one of his birthday parties, cops and families were present. It was, effectively, two parties. On the other hand, we hunt with cops and interact well when we have a common goal.
Cops see more of the dark side, but others see it also. Cops, because of their career choice to supervise society, occasionally see themselves as being in charge over all, but most just see themselves as doing a job that is necessary . We, being American citizens, hate to be told what to do or not do. It is a messy system that somehow manages to work.
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